The Dark Side of Alchemy
by Anime-Panda-Chan
Summary: A girl with the thought that alchemy is corrupting and evil travels around the world, slowly trying to cleanse alchemy from it. note: Slightly unrelated to anime... review please!
1. Prologue

Chapter 1: Intentional Meeting

Strolling along with her long black hair tied back from her face, her eyes darted around the marketplace searching for something to satisfy her rumbling stomach. She spotted a store selling varieties of fish and shellfish. She hadn't had seafood for a while. Another had colorful fruits, some she'd never seen before. Fruits were always her favorite on the food pyramid. A meat shop almost made her stop and stare. The inside-out bunnies hanging from hooks on the display window nearly made her gag... or, at least she thought they were bunnies.

At the moment, she hungered for something sweet. A fruit, she decided while heading towards the colorful fruit rack.

The raccoon scurried ahead of her and pounced onto the fruit rack. It clamped its teeth into an orange, then bounded past her as she arrived. The store owner did not even notice. He had his head resting on his arm, his eyelids only opened halfway at the most.

Her icy blue eyes followed one fruit after another, the rainbow of colors almost blinding her under the sun of that beautiful spring morning.

She reached for a green pear, but it took her a moment to realize that someone else had beaten her to it. Her eyes drifted up slowly, her hand still claiming the pear.

"That pear looks the most delicious, doesn't it?" a male voice said. Her eyes met up with his caramel-brown eyes, glinting in the sun. "But you can have it, I fancy mangos more." he moved his hand and picked up a ripe mango.

She stared at him blankly for a moment as he got the attention of the store owner.

"I'll take three mangos and three pears... oh, and an orange." he bagged the mangos in one bag and the pears in another. He didn't pick up an orange.

He handed her the bag of pears. She hesitated, but took it anyways, just because she was low on money. On her last mission, the old man kept his money locked up.

"Thank you." she gave a half-assed bow.

"Traveling?" he asked.

She nodded, a bit uncomfortably.

"Ah, I just arrived yesterday." he brushed his blonde hair from his eyes and held out a hand. "My name's Ezylana... or Ezyl for short."

"Angie." she smiled, or more so smirked, politely. "What're you doing in town?"

"Just passing by." he replied. "And yourself?"

"Business."

"Oh really?" he seemed so interested. Angie wasn't sure if he was actually some idiot or trying to pick her up. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of business?"

"I do mind." her face shifted into a complete smirk. She thought by then he'd give up and go away, seeing how most guys would when they see a girl make that face. But to her hidden surprise, he just smiled.

"Your business, right." he looked around. "Pretty day, don't you think? It's perfect for... a walk? How about it?"

Angie arched and eyebrow. "Why not." she shrugged, just to see what this guy was up to. "Where to?"

"How about just around town? It's not a big town, so unfortunately, no park."

"Sure." she said, backing away from the rack, but waiting for him. A strange look swept across his face as he walked towards her.

Walking side to side, it was silent for a moment.

"So, where're you passing by to?" Angie asked.

"Libraries." Ezyl replied. "I'm looking for alchemy books."

"...Alchemy?" she tried to hide the grimacing look under her fake interested face. "...What's so great about it?"

"Nothing really." he shrugged. "I think it's a terrible thing."

"Really?" she almost interrupted him, and quickly shook off the sudden surprise.

"Yeah, why?"

"I feel the same way." Angie gave a friendly look. "I mean... I know half of alchemy is used for good, but there's still the evil part, right?"

"True."

"But... why are you looking for them if you think it's bad?" Ezyl chuckled at her puzzled look.

"To tell you the truth..." he stopped, glanced around cautiously, and leaned close. "I steal them to burn. I try to get rid of them"

Angie stared blankly at the thought.

"I do the same thing." she smiled.

"No kidding?"

"I'm serious." she laughed under her breath a little. "This is strange... My name is Evangeline, or Eva, actually. I don't give real names at first. It's been hard around... sneaking around burning books."

"Tell me about it. I tend to keep a low profile." he grinned. "So where're you staying? Green's Inn?"

"Yeah." she nodded. "Speaking of which... I need to drop things off and do a bit of stuff."

"Mind if I come along? My room's on the second floor."

"No, not at all." a grin stretched across both of their faces.

The inn wasn't very far, considering it was a small town. Their rooms were both on the second floor, two rooms away.

End


	2. Intentional Meeting

Chapter 1: Intentional Meeting

Strolling along with her long black hair tied back from her face, her eyes darted around the marketplace searching for something to satisfy her rumbling stomach. She spotted a store selling varieties of fish and shellfish. She hadn't had seafood for a while. Another had colorful fruits, some she'd never seen before. Fruits were always her favorite on the food pyramid. A mean shop almost made her stop and stare. The inside-out bunnies hanging from hooks on the display window nearly made her gag... or, at least she thought they were bunnies.

At the moment, she hungered for something sweet. A fruit, she decided while heading towards the colorful fruit rack.

The raccoon scurried ahead of her and pounced onto the fruit rack. It clamped its teeth into an orange, then bounded past her as she arrived. The store owner did not even notice. He had his head resting on his arm, his eyelids only opened halfway at the most.

Her icy blue eyes followed one fruit after another, the rainbow of colors almost blinding her under the sun of that beautiful spring morning.

She reached for a green pear, but it took her a moment to realize that someone else had beaten her to it. Her eyes drifted up slowly, her hand still claiming the pear.

"That pear looks the most delicious, doesn't it?" a male voice said. Her eyes met up with his caramel-brown eyes, glinting in the sun. "But you can have it, I fancy mangos more." he moved his hand and picked up a ripe mango.

She stared at him blankly for a moment as he got the attention of the store owner.

"I'll take three mangos and three pears... oh, and an orange." he bagged the mangos in one bag and the pears in another. He didn't pick up an orange.

He handed her the bag of pears. She hesitated, but took it anyways, just because she was low on money. On her last mission, the old man kept his money locked up.

"Thank you." she gave a half-assed bow.

"Traveling?" he asked.

She nodded, a bit uncomfortably.

"Ah, I just arrived yesterday." he brushed his blonde hair from his eyes and held out a hand. "My name's Ezlana... or Ezyl for short."

"Angie." she smiled, or more so smirked, politely. "What're you doing in town?"

"Just passing by." he replied. "And yourself?"

"Business."

"Oh really?" he seemed so interested. Angie wasn't sure if he was actually some idiot or trying to pick her up. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of business?"

"I do mind." her face shifted into a complete smirk. She thought by then he'd give up and go away, seeing how most guys would when they see a girl make that face. But to her hidden surprise, he just smiled.

"Your business, right." he looked around. "Pretty day, don't you think? It's perfect for... a walk? How about it?"

Angie arched and eyebrow. "Why not." she shrugged, just to see what this guy was up to. "Where to?"

"How about just around town? It's not a big town, so unfortunately, no park."

"Sure." she said, backing away from the rack, but waiting for him. A strange look swept across his face as he walked towards her.

Walking side to side, it was silent for a moment.

"So, where're you passing by to?" Angie asked.

"Libraries." Ezyl replied. "I'm looking for alchemy books."

"...Alchemy?" she tried to hide the grimacing look under her fake interested face. "...What's so great about it?"

"Nothing really." he shrugged. "I think it's a terrible thing."

"Really?" she almost interrupted him, and quickly shook off the sudden surprise.

"Yeah, why?"

"I feel the same way." Angie gave a friendly look. "I mean... I know half of alchemy is used for good, but there's still the evil part, right?"

"True."

"But... why are you looking for them if you think it's bad?" Ezyl chuckled at her puzzled look.

"To tell you the truth..." he stopped, glanced around cautiously, and leaned close. "I steal them to burn. I try to get rid of them"

Angie stared blankly at the thought.

"I do the same thing." she smiled.

"No kidding?"

"I'm serious." she laughed under her breath a little. "This is strange... My name is Evangeline, or Eva, actually. I don't give real names at first. It's been hard around... sneaking around burning books."

"Tell me about it. I tend to keep a low profile." he grinned. "So where're you staying? Green's Inn?"

"Yeah." she nodded. "Speaking of which... I need to drop things off and do a bit of stuff."

"Mind if I come along? My room's on the second floor."

"No, not at all." a grin stretched across both of their faces.

The inn wasn't very far, considering it was a small town. Their rooms were both on the second floor, two rooms away.

End


	3. Night Stroll

Chapter 2: Night Stroll

The two both had planned to collect books and papers from a the same home, different nights. Having the time, Ezyl and Eva teamed up to do the mission that night.

"Which house is it?" Ezyl asked, following closely behind Eva.

"Just a few blocks ahead. It's pretty big and hard not to notice. He keeps his books and papers in the basement though... it might be a little hard." Eva watched around for people on the streets, but it was dead silent.

Not that either of them could see in the dark night, Ezyl made a surprised face. It shifted into a smirk of underestimation, for he didn't expect her to know so much. As she looked back, it changed back to neutral.

"Right there." she stopped to point.

The house, was not much of a house but more like a small apartment building. It was pretty much a rectangular block sticking out of the ground with windows. The fencing was a 6-foot brick wall with a fancy black barred gate in the front. There was no grass or any shrubbery in the huge front lawn, just a strange shaped tree in the corner.

"Let's go."

As they climbed the black gates carefully, they didn't notice the man walking around the corner who just happened to see them. His insomnia kept him walking the streets at night, but this was his first night in town, arriving just that evening.

He lowered his sunglasses and peered at them to see if he saw what he really saw. Arching his eyebrow, he pushed his sunglasses up and quietly walked towards the house.

"How are you planning to get inside?" Ezyl asked as they walked to the back of the house.

Eva didn't answer but she did look through the backdoor window before grabbed the knob and opened it. He tilted his head, a little confused. As she opened it further and stepped inside, a furry animal appeared at her ankles.

"What is that!" he nearly said loudly.

"Shh, it's a raccoon. His name's Inks." she replied without looking back at him. Her complete focus was on the mission, looking around if the owner was awake. "He helps me out quite a bit... especially getting me inside."

"What a smart animal." he chuckled.

"You have no idea..." she turned right and in the corner was a door. Ezyl assumed it led to the basement, and he was right. She opened the door, which made a quiet creaking noise. She paused for a moment for any other noise, but all she could hear was their breathing.

She continued and down the concrete stairs. The stairway curved and seemed almost endless, especially in the dark. She suddenly stopped, Ezyl bumping into her lightly.

"Huh?" he seemed puzzled. He heard rustling.

"I'm looking for a light." the noise stopped and suddenly there was a beam of light on the wall. He could faintly see her holding a flashlight. "We're almost there."

And soon, while continuing, they came to a flat area. It was a gray stone flooring, and against the walls were bookshelves, except for a space for a desk where papers were pinned up on a tack board and files were everywhere.

"Let's get started." she whispered, turning on the lamp on the desk. "Only two of the bookshelves contain alchemy books... those two." she pointed them out, which were both on one wall, considering the room was probably the size of a small hotel room. It made no sense to Ezyl... a deep basement, but a small room, only half the books were on alchemy, and there was no lock on the door. He shrugged it off.

He began packing the books into his first bag (a backpack) while Eva packed the files into her bag. It took a while, but when she was done clearing out the desk she turned to help Ezyl. Just as she turned, she saw a tall, broad man enter the room. She nearly screamed, but her heart jumped instead and she squealed.

"Shit." Ezyl's eyes widened.

"Who're you?" Eva hissed.

The man turned to her and arched an eyebrow.

"I was about to ask the same thing." his deep voice said quietly, as if he couldn't whisper.

"Wait, he isn't the guy who lives here?" Ezyl looked puzzled.

"No, I don't know him." she scowled.

"What are you doing?" the man asked again. He stared at Eva from behind his sunglasses. He wore a strange cape-cloak looking thing that only covered the right half of his body.

"What does it look like?" Eva smirked. "We're stealing and going to burn this guy's alchemy stuff."

The guy's expression changed suddenly into a very surprised look. It seemed like he was about to say something, but Eva interrupted him.

"Ha, good thing you came around!" her smirk shifted into a grin. "We need a third hand to carry all these books, y'know?"

"Wha-" the man and Ezyl both said an once.

"Here," she handed the man three bags, assuming he was strong from his appearance. Ezyl and him both looked puzzled.

"Let's go, the guy might wake up." she pushed the guy up the stairs.

"But-wait-" he stuttered as Ezyl turned the lamp off on his desk.

Without a word or question, the man was pushed outside and they all ran for it into the alley. It was hard climbing over the gate, but luckily the bags fit through the gate bars... of course, if you squished it thin enough that is.

After the climb, they walked a little outside of town and made a fire. To Eva's interest, the man hadn't questioned or spoken a word since they left. She turned to him, smiling. Both their faces were glowing orange from the fire.

"Do you dislike alchemy too?" she asked.

He shrugged. He mumbled something she couldn't hear... "it's in...ood" is all she heard.

"What?"

"Err... yes... it's not a good thing to have in this world, is it?" he smiled in a polite way. Just as a stranger would. She smirked at him.

"I'm Eva." she nodded her head towards Ezyl. "That's Ezyl."

"Hi." Ezyl raised a hand for a split second.

"My name's Daerial Iven..." the man said, drifting his eyes towards the fire. Ezyl tossed in a couple more books.

"Only if we had something to cook..." he sighed. Then turned to Inks. The raccoon stared at him and blinked blankly, then squeaked and curled up into a ball on the dusty ground.

"What're you doing in town... Daeren, that's what I'm gunna call you." Eva grinned.

"I don't know." from his toneless voice, he seemed to be hypnotized by the flames of the fire. "I never thought about it-"

"What!" Eva laughed as if he was joking. "How can you not know? And why're you wearing sunglasses during the night?"

"I don't know." he said.

"Hiding something?" Ezyl asked.

Daeren turned to him.

"No." he seemed to be holding back a scowl.

"Anyway," Eva noticed this and changed the subject. "I think I'm going to head back to the inn." she said while standing up.

"That certainly would be nice... are you staying anywhere in town?" Ezyl asked Daeren.

"No." he said, standing up as well.

"You can stay with me then." Eva said. "I got the last room, which happened to have two beds."

"It is okay with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah." she made a face that said "don't worry about it".

They headed back to the inn, leaving the fire burning. They didn't worry too much since there were no plant life nearby... just a bunch of dirt.

"Bothersome thing." Eva pulled her long dark hair off her head.

Daeren was looking around the room when he saw that. In a shocked responce, he stared at her with his jaw dropped, but quickly recovered.

She started removing hair pins from her head. She actually had hair... a light sandy colored hair. It was a little choppy and messy, especially in the back which was just a bunch of short hair. Her front part was longer and neater.

"You disguise yourself?" he asked, a little too calmly.

"Yeah... kinda a hobby, kinda for my own freedom..." she sighed as she poked her eyes. She took out her blue contacts... her real eye color was a golden yellow.

He watched her until she started to undress. Then he turned around torwards the window and stared out blankly. He wasn't sure why she just started to take her clothes off infront of him... had she forgotten he was ther-

"Don't worry about it, I know you wouldn't look." Eva chuckled, slipping on a long shirt and shorts. "From your behavior, you seemed polite enough."

Daeren didn't reply. He pulled a chair up to the window and stared out into the night sky.

"Arn't you gunna sleep?" she asked. "It's past midnight."

"I'm not tired." he replied.

"What?" she chuckled. "You an insomniac 'er something?"

He didn't reply. She frowned and crawled into bed, falling asleep a few minutes later.

Daeren stood up to take his sunglasses off and set them down on the window sill. He took off his cloak and hung it on the back of the chair. He didn't sit back down, but continued to stare blankly out the window.

-End-


	4. The Spy

Chapter 3: The Spy

Eva woke up peacefully. She rolled over on her stomach and stretched her whole body, then sighed as she relaxed. She opened her eyes and searched for Daeren in the room. He was in the same spot as when she fell asleep. Sitting in the chair... Though, she wasn't sure if he was awake because of his sunglasses (he put them back on at sunrise).

She rolled off the bed, making a loud "thud". Daeren slowly turned his head, which meant he had been awake. He stared at her blankly, or it seemed.

"Mnnn... what time is it?" she asked.

"Almost ten." he replied, looking back towards the window.

"Mmm, perfect timing."

"For what?" he didn't look away from the window.

"A mission." she got up and walked towards her suitcase.

"This early?" he had a questioning face.

"Yeah... they're out heading to the next town today." she pulled out some clothes. "I'd do it tonight but I have another one. You gunna help?"

Daeren stared at her.

"Are you working for someone?" he asked.

"Nope, on my own." she started taking her long shirt off. He turned away. A few seconds later she started pinning up her hair. She put on a brunette wig. A large clump of the bangs covered her left eye while the rest of the hair was wavy. She popped in the blue contacts once again.

"I'll be back in an hour." she said, wrapping a tan poncho-like hoodie. It only had a right sleeve, and the other arm was like a poncho's. It was long down to her ankles and had a hood. "If you're still here, I'll take the answer as yes." she trotted out and shut the door behind her.

In no time Eva made it to the small one story house on the edge of town. She went in, which was already unlocked by Inks, and quickly got out. She went into the alleyway to burn the books.

She headed back but on her way she bumped into someone while turning the corner. She looked up and to her surprise it was Daeren. His expression was just as shocked as hers.

"Hey," she grinned. "Does this mean you're ditching us?"

He looked even more shocked for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it.

"I... no, I'm not ditching you two." he shook off the shock. "I was just getting some fresh air."

"Well it's several blocks from the inn..." she made a suspicious face.

"It's quieter here."

"Hmm... heading back?" she asked.

"Sure."

They walked back without a word. In the hallway, they saw Ezyl at the top of the stairs.

"Hey!" he waved. "I was about to get some food, you guys comin'?"

"That sounds great." Eva grinned as they turned around.

They ate at a nearby cafe and left quickly. Ezyl went off doing something on his own while Daeren decided to wander the town once again. Eva went back to the inn to take a nap back at the inn, where Inks was already curled up on the other bed.

"Eva,"

She grunted as a response.

"Wake up," someone shook her... she wasn't sure who yet. "It's almost eleven."

"Nnng..." she rolled over and opened her eyes. It was Daeren.

"It's unbelievable... how long you can sleep..." he sighed.

"Why?" she slid off the end of the bed she opened her suitcase on the floor. She pulled out her night clothes, which was a dark purple Chinese looking shirt with grey buttons and a black skirt that cut up the sides. Instead of the tan hoodie-poncho, she took out a black one.

"Nothing. I suppose sleep if good for your health." he turned around and instead of staying he left.

A few minutes later, she walked out of her room and there stood Ezyl and Daeren waiting for her.

"Ready?" Ezyl asked, starting to walk ahead of them.

"Hell yeah." she grinned. "When am I not?"

That mission was as easy as the one she did during the day, except more books. They went in and got out quickly, although the dog in the front yard kept them a little behind, and almost caught. The lights came on as soon as they got out of the yard.

"That was close." Ezyl said while nodding and making a face that said sarcastically "that was easy".

"I don't think I ever came across a guard dog." Eva sighed, sitting down on the cold ground. The books made a loud "thud" in her backpack.

Ezyl started a fire in a garbage can nearby, tossing in several books. Eva slipped off her backpack and pushed it aside, then leaned against the side of the concrete wall, exhausted from carrying the books. She rested her eyes as the guys burned the remaining books.

"Eva?" Ezyl poked her. When she didn't respond, he shook her shoulder and said her name again. Again, she didn't respond. "I think she fell asleep." he laughed a little. He picked up her arm and tried lifting her onto his back, but she was too heavy, him being only a few inches taller.

"I'll take her." Daeren rolled her over and carried her in his arms. "She's in my room anyways." he said, heading back. Ezyl stayed his spot for a moment, watching him walk away curiously. Then threw in the remaining books, all but one, and left. He left the last book beside the flaming garbage can.

"Eva," someone shook her. She rolled over to see Daeren.

"Nnnng?" she murmured.

"You have a mission... the last one in this town, right?" he asked. "It's almost noon."

"Nnn... kay..." she rolled over. Daeren went to sit back down in the chair in front of the window again, just to make sure she woke up. Five minutes later, she slid off the bed and before she started changing, he walked out of the room.

A few minutes later, she met up with Ezyl and Daeren in the hallway.

"I'm doing this one on my own guys." she grinned.

"I know." Ezyl smiled back. "Just came out to say good luck. I'm going to stay here all day. Last night was kind of exhausting, y'know?"

"Hm, and what about you, Daeren?" Eva asked.

"Town." he replied.

"Alright, I'm going to head out." she bowed. "See you guys later." she quickly left, trotting out.

Daeren strolled through the town a bit. It's what he enjoyed... just walking around. Although, this town was quite dull. After seeing how silly it was, he turned and headed back to the inn.

It hadn't been long since the three parted... perhaps ten or fifteen minutes. He had the key to her room since the little raccoon usually unlocked it for her... It's a wonder how that thing gets into places. But as usual, "Inks" went with Eva and the door... should have been locked.

At the top of the stairs, he immediately knew something was wrong. The door was open slightly and there were loud rustles of paper. He knew Eva hadn't been back yet... it was too early.

He didn't have a weapon or anything on him at the current moment... but what could he do? He calmly and quietly headed towards the room, the papers getting louder. He slowly opened the door, which didn't make a single sound as he walked inside.

The intruder had his back faced towards the door. A mind rush of confusion, prediction and pure hatred occurred as he recognized the sandy blonde hair...

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked calmly, but angrily. The intruder spun around. As his eyes landed on Daeren, he made an innocent smile.

"I was just studying Eva's notes." Ezyl replied, obviously lying. The papers were a mess, and Eva's suitcase looked as if a tornado has hit it.

"Wrong answer." he scowled. Ezyl's face twisted evilly.

"It's none of your business." he grinned.

Daeren took a few swift steps towards Ezyl and grabbed his throat with one hand. Ezyl's boney neck was easily breakable... Daeren tightened his grip every second.

"What were you doing?" he asked again.

"I tell no lies, I really was studying Eva's notes." he choked, turning pale.

"For what reasons?"

"Take a guess." he smirked, but the look quickly left as Daeren tightened his grip. "Aaaagh, I'm a spy!"

"For who?" he growled.

"The state." he replied. They've been after her for a while now..."

Daeren loosened his grip slightly. Silent.

"I'm reporting this to Eva-" he paused, his hand slid off of Ezyl's throat... numb, he felt. He didn't want to let go of him but...

He looked down where his hands were. Warm... blood.

"You won't be telling Eva anything." he chuckled and threw the knife aside. "She should be back soon." he blankly walked past Daeren and disappeared into the hallway.

Daeren, already on his knees, fell sideways and continued to spill blood on the wooden floor.

Eva walked up the stairs. Ezyl immediately approached her, although it seemed as if he had been standing there for a while.

"Eva! I've been waiting for your." Ezyl said, seeming exhausted. "It seems you've got yourself a spy. I caught Daeren going through your things, he works for the state and he said they've-"

"Don't listen to him!" Daeren growled. He dragged himself along the wall, leaving smears of blood on the pale yellow wall. "Eva, _he's_ the spy!"

"He's mad, he's trying to blame it on me-" Ezyl jumped back as a blade flew towards him. Eva positioned her sword in front of her, pointing it at Ezyl if he made one slight wrong move.

-End-


	5. Mouse Trap

Chapter 4: Mouse Trap

"Predictable." Ezyl murmured under his breath. "But how did you know?"

"Liars always sound too innocent." Eva scowled, almost as evilly as him. Apparently, upon seeing Daeren bleeding, it angered her. "Why is the state after me?"

"Why else? You're going around disguising yourself, making it harder to catch you, burning alchemy books that don't belong to you and even rare and life-long work with it." he said calmly, underestimating Eva. "I don't know if you've intentionally been avoiding being caught or just damn lucky, but you don't know what you're doing."

"I know damn well." Eva took a step closer, touching the tip of her katana to Ezyl's throat.

"At first I was surprised, when I found out who you were. I suppose I can understand a little... especially after what happened to your father-"

"Don't you dare speak of my parents!" Eva made a small cut across his throat, though not deep enough to be fatal, and swung it towards his neck. He ducked. She swung at him again but he jumped back. He suddenly threw himself out of the window next to him.

Eva, growling, swore and ran to the broken window. Ezyl was nowhere to be seen. She turned to help Daeren, who was lying on the wooden floor. She dragged him back into their room, ripped a strip off the bed sheet and wrapped it around his abdomen.

She panicked a little, not really knowing what else she could do. She poked him to see if he was awake... she couldn't tell because of his sunglasses. She reached up to take them off. Daeren suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Don't." he said. Relieved he was alive, she let him rest and began cleaning up the room and packing.

Daeren was awakened by random rustling of noises. He opened his heavy eyelids and stared up at the ceiling. After a moment, he sat up, or attempted. About halfway up he stopped as a sharp pain jolted into his abdomen.

_That's right,_ he thought. _I was stabbed..._ He peered around the room with one eye.

"You know, I'll have you arrested for assault on an officer and for helping a wanted criminal." his voice...

In shock, he stared at Ezyl who was on the side of his bed with a knife to his throat. That mocking sneer molded onto his face.

"Can't take a little pain?" he chuckled. "Then I'll have you executed!" he moved back his arm and swung it back, right into Daeren's throat-

He choked. Pain. Not in his throat but his abdomen. Worse than when he attempted to get up.

"Daeren!" Eva's voice. He could hear her right next to him. "Drink some water, stop moving around to much!"

He opened his eyes to see Eva sitting on the edge of the bed with a glass of water. She looked concerned. His breathing was heavy from choking. His throat burned and his whole waist jabbing with pain.

"Where's Ezyl?..." he whispered, his throat itchy.

"What? He got away this morning, remember?..." Eva looked a bit puzzled. "Are you okay?"

A dream. Of course he was fine, so he nodded. He peeked at his watch. One-thirty... a.m. He was stabbed over twelve hours ago.

"Let me change your bandages while you're awake." Eva said, setting the glass of water on the table and untying his bandages. She had kept his skintight shirt rolled so she could easily change bandages. It had stopped bleeding at that point.

"Here's my plan..." she started as she began bandaging his waist again. "These are long-term bandages, so in the morning we can just leave... If, that is, you're coming with me." she paused. He nodded. "If that's the case, we'll head to the next town Northwest... as I originally planned."

Daeren didn't say anything.

"There, all done." she pinned the end down. "Try not to move around too much."

He lied back down.

Eva left his side and went to do something. He heard rustlings again, which slowly made him drowsy and drift off to sleep.

Early in the morning, the time when everyone was still asleep, Eva and Daeren left quickly after paying. When the town was almost out of sight, Daeren decided to share his thoughts.

"Eva," he said after clearing his throat. "I've been thinking about this for a while... uhm, aren't you worried about Ezyl... or the state?"

Eva stopped and turned, jerking her head slightly to brush her purple wig hair from her face. Her natural golden eyes stared up at him seriously, making an odd look.

"You're just paranoid." Eva grinned. "We'll be fine. Don't worry about it too much." she turned and continued to walk along the dry, desert area. Daeren knew it was bothering her, but he couldn't understand why she didn't tell him.

"I... think we should go to a different town." he said after a long silence.

"We'll be in the next town soon." she didn't stop this time. "I still think you're being really paranoid."

"Can never be too careful." Daeren said under his breath, unaware if she heard or not.

They arrived to the next town, which was smaller than the last town. Eva checked into an inn, dropped off her belongings and began her usual work. Daeren followed and examined closely.

She first went around town, seeing who used alchemy and wrote down their addresses in a little red book. There was only one man who used alchemy in the town. He was quite young with little books. Though it seemed unnecessary, he seemed to be more of an artist, his books had to be burned.

She then took some time to think about how to get in, but not too much time because it usually wasn't hard for her if they weren't rich and fancy with security, which most of them weren't. Then that night or the next day/night, she got to work. Tonight, she decided, because it's sometimes important to leave as soon as possible.

"His books are in the basement... so piece of cake." she said suddenly in the middle of their lunch meal. Daeren stared at her blankly because they both had been relatively silent up upon arriving, except when she explained her work. This just proves how she can be so absent minded, but think so deeply about other things.

That late evening, after buying traveling food and take out dinner, they headed back to the inn to prepare for the night. While eating, Eva explained what her plans were... which were quite simple. Break in... get out.

While Eva was thinking of the mission during the day, Daeren was thinking of how to avoid, or escape, a trap one was set. While Eva's thoughts were successful, his where not. He didn't have much of a plan.

That night, Eva decided to wear a medium length blue wig, which was tied into a short high ponytail. She looked like a young teenage girl. She popped in violet contacts. Though it was quite dangerous, Daeren never disguised himself. He was always wearing those shades...

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you without those shades on." Eva said, changing her clothes. A quiet "zip" could be heard as she zipped up her shirt. "Hate to sound like Ezyl, but hiding anything?"

"No." he knew she knew he was lying but she dropped it.

Eva wrapped on her hoodie poncho and threw on an empty backpack.

"I already said I can do this by myself." she looked over her shoulder at him. "This guy doesn't have a lot."

"I don't care." he sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for her.

"You're wounded." she turned around.

"I don't care." he stood up.

"You'd be wasting time, and risking opening your wound." she looked as if she was almost scowling.

"I don't care." he took a step towards the door.

"Fine." she frowned and walked out the door. "See if I care."

Daeren followed her silently as they headed into the night towards the targeted house. Being a small town, it wasn't very far. Luckily the guy had went to bed by then, so they didn't have to wait.

They climbed over the back fence, which was four feet from the back door. Inks unlocked the door silently. The basement door was located on the other side of the house, and fortunately it was a small house. There was no lock to the basement, which wasn't a small basement at all. It was just one large room with a few bookshelves and paintings.

Eva spotted the one shelf with alchemy books and headed over there while sliding the pack off her back. She began packing, though rather slow, Daeren thought. Although it was going okay so far, he kept a lookout, just in case.

"All right, I got the books packed." Eva said, lifting the backpack onto her shoulders again. "Let's get ou-" she saw Daeren suddenly step in front of her. A splatter of red arose from in front of him and fell over both of them. Eva's eyes widened as she stared at her blood soaked self.

"Daeren!" she almost screamed as he stood frozen in front of her.

"I'm fine." he said, looking over his shoulder. "I told you there'd be a trap."

"And there was. In front of Daeren was Ezyl in a state military's uniform, holding a gun. His usual evil grin stretched across his face. Two other officers were at his side, pointing guns as well. She was pretty sure Ezyl had shot him, but Daeren was only bleeding from his arm, which he used to block his skull and torso area.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ezyl chuckled. "We set out 10 different traps for you in the towns nearby... and you fell right into the one that was marked on your map. You really are a silly girl, I learned." he laughed harder and put his gun back into it's belt loop.

"You're right."

"Ah?" he suddenly stopped.

"I am quite silly, especially when I knew there was a chance this would happen." she glared at him. "But not so silly as to not be prepared!" she threw something at the ground from her hand and suddenly the room was fogged into a thick bluish black smoke.

"Come on!" Daeren heard Eva and felt a tug at his wrist. He followed the tug towards the door.

"Don't let them escape!" Ezyl's voice could be hears, followed by gunshots.

Daeren suddenly felt a sharp pain stab into his calf. He growled, but kept going through the endless smoke. He knew he was shot, and wanted to make sure Eva didn't get shot, but he could barely make anything out in this smoke-

A short screech.

"Eva!" he yelled.

"I ran into something, hold on." she said. He got closer and saw her looking around. "This way." she pointed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said without looking back at him. He noticed she was limping a little.

"Eva." he resisted her tugging for a moment.

"What?" she scowled, and suddenly she was lifted up into Daeren's arms.

"Hey! What the hell-"

"You're slow." he said calmly. He managed to carry her upstairs, but as soon as he got outside, more officers showed up. They started firing. Daeren was hit on his shoulder.

Eva could only watch in horror as her shield was shot again and again. Most bullets only grazed him, but he was hit on the arms so many times it looked like his arm had been skinned. Soon he ran out of firing range, but continued into town. She soon came to realize he was running to the inn.

They arrived quickly and he continued to run to the room, except slower. He stopped to have her unlock the door, still in his arms. They silently walked in and Daeren set her down on her bed. He then backed up and slumped onto the floor, his back against the bed.

Eva was tired herself, too, and felt like collapsing but she couldn't. Not at that moment with Daeren bleeding on the floor. She was bleeding herself, but not a lot. She had tripped over something and twisted her the bleeding ankle too. She ignored it, especially after Daeren carried her safely back to the room.

She grabbed a towel from the bathroom, wet it, and began cleaning his arms. They didn't seem too bad... she didn't quite know what to do with his shoulder that was shot.

Daeren seemed to open his eyes for a brief moment, then close them again, looking pretty exhausted. She dabbed his skin so gently as not to make it hurt more than it already did. She then began bandaging them carefully and lightly. She had finished his arms when a thought struck her-- was he dying?

He could have been hit in a fatal spot and she didn't know it at the moment or-or-or... was he still alive now?

She checked. He was still breathing. Was he conscious? She poked him. He didn't seem to be... he could have just been sleeping...

She suddenly found herself reaching for his shades. Why? She didn't know. She did have to take them off to clean his forehead... which was bleeding as well. As she slipped them off, he didn't stop her...

Eyelids. Normal eyelids, she thought. No scars or signs of inhumanness. She wiped his forehead and cheek, which was smeared with blood. After applying a bandage, she poked him.

It seemed for a brief moment that he would open both eyes, but he opened one. His left one. It was a perfect color of sky blue. Even in the dim lit room she could see it.

"Now what's wrong with your eyes?" she made a smug look. He snatched back his sunglasses and put them back on.

"Nothing." he tried to get up but he winced and fell back. He sighed.

"I told you to stay back." she frowned. "Let me see your ankle."

He straitened the leg that was shot. "But you care." he said.

"Huh?" she rolled up his jeans leg.

"You said 'see if I care'." he said. "You care, right?"

Eva looked puzzled. Daeren gave her a joking look, smiling. He rarely smiled. She laughed.

-End-


End file.
